This week marks the anniversary of the reconsecration of St Andrew’s Church after it was razed to the ground in World War Two.

St Andrew's had managed to stand tall, in one way or another, for a millennium until 1941 - surviving civil war, Reformation, alteration and reconstruction. But when bombs rained down over the city in the Blitz it could stand no longer.

The city's mother church fell in a blaze of fire leaving only a charred shell and a few marble pillars in the open air.

Before the ash had even cooled, a sign was defiantly hung above the church doors bearing the word Resurgam in thick, black paint.

It meant 'I shall rise again' and it grew to symbolise the spirit of the Plymouth people who refused to give up in the face of the Blitz destruction.

An American anti-aircraft gun alongside the ruins of St Andrews Church, the Guildhall and the Municipal Buildings.

The story goes that the sign was placed by a Margaret E Smith, English teacher an Plymouth High School for Girls. She called into the newsagents of Donald Vittle, who worked for the Herald and Morning News as Circulation Manager in the early 1930s, and asked him which he thought was more appropriate: Resurge - 'Rise Again' or Resurgam - 'I will rise again'.

Miss Smith then had Resurgam painted on a piece of wood by a Mutley carpenter and placed it above the entrance to St Andrew's. Later it was carved in granite and placed above the door.

Circa 1949/50 - Plymouth Guildhall from St Andrews Church, Plymouth.

It would be 16 years before the church was fully-restored to its former glory, but it never stopped serving its purpose as a gathering place for the community.

When the horrors of war were over, the ruin's floor was swept clean, lawn was laid and flower beds installed in sharp contrast to St Andrew's burnt remains. It became knows as the 'garden church' for six years- an open-air worshipping ground.

On October 22, 1949 the future Queen Elizabeth visited the site to mark the start of construction after an international appeal raised thousands for the rebuild.

By 1957, the church had been reconsecrated in the presence of Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, granddaughter of Queen Victoria -. The building had been redesigned internally, but from the outside, to all intents and purposes, the same church which had served Plymouth people since the Fifteenth Century.

Before 1960, the Plymouth Guildhall would stand restored next to it and in 1962 the Civic Centre was erected next to it, marking the next chapter in the life of the city centre.

In 2009 St Andrew's was honoured for its part in the community by being named a Minster - bestowed on churches that played a central part in their community.

Time Line

The timeline of St Andrew's Church

8th Century

First evidence of Christian community here. The first Saxon church, dedicated to St. Andrew – the patron saint of fishermen, was probably a low, wooden building, hidden behind Plymouth Hoe and out of sight of marauding pirates.

1087

Elpheage, first named vicar

1121 to 1536

Parish administered by Plympton Priory. In 1121 the Normans gave the parish to the canons at Plympton Priory who built the first stone church in about 1170 and retained the patronage of St. Andrew’s for the next four centuries.

1387 to 1500

Building enlarged to its present shape; the tower and Prysten House constructed. Two chapels were built, followed by two aisles and two transepts, then finally the tower which was completed in about 1490.

1501

Visit of Catherine of Aragon

Late 16th Century

Elizabethan seafarers including Drake and Hawkins attended St. Andrew’s